*Our comrades in the Revolutionary Army wouldn't break that easily!*
Lubbock wanted to say that, but considering the intel on Esdeath, he swallowed his words.
Esdeath. One of the Empire's youngest generals.
She was exceptionally strong, had a distinguished military record, wasn't terrible to the people of the Imperial Capital, and used her money to reward her subordinates.
Of course, none of that was the point today.
The point was—after Esdeath obtained the [Ice Teigu], her already terrifying combat power became even more frightening.
According to Najenda, after Esdeath had easily killed her second-in-command, she had intentionally spared Najenda's life, which was the only reason Najenda had been able to escape.
Another key point was that Esdeath had a super-sadistic personality and was a master of various torture techniques.
If Esdeath found the informant tracking her, the probability of her torturing them until they spilled Night Raid's plan for the day seemed...
...pretty high.
It wasn't that he didn't trust his Revolutionary Army comrades. It was mainly that Esdeath's brutal reputation was too well-known. He didn't dare take that bet.
"Looking at your expression, you must know how high that probability is."
Glancing at the still-bleeding Leone, Aaron kept his expression level as he looked at the murderous Akame.
"I hope that young lady over there sheathes her sword. No matter how fast you are, we can kill your comrade before you make a move."
"Honestly, even though Night Raid attacked me twice, I don't want to make things too hostile. That's why I'm offering to take this hostage... and burden... off your hands."
"After all, your backup should still be some distance away. By taking one of the two wounded, I'm helping to lighten your load."
"And looking at Lubbock's expression, I've already convinced him. So, Akame, if you want to fight, I'll be happy to oblige. It's just that if negotiations break down, I'll definitely choose to kill your teammate first."
"Meanwhile, your teammate in the forest will be bleeding out. And if you fight me, there's a good chance Esdeath will show up and finish us all off."
"The result of us continuing to fight is that Esdeath will show up and walk away with all six Teigu—yours and ours. The Revolutionary Army will be short four Teigu users, and the Empire will gain six. What do you think will happen to the Revolutionary Army's chances of victory because of your impulsive bloodlust?"
"Akame, you don't want Night Raid to be wiped out because of this, do you?"
*This guy...!!*
Akame might seem a bit ditsy normally, but she was no fool.
On the contrary, during a mission, Akame's intelligence was definitely above average.
But it was exactly because of this that she felt so... stifled!
Utterly, indescribably frustrated!
She didn't support her two teammates attacking a Teigu user they shouldn't have provoked, but the problem was, her family had been beaten half to death. Seeing this, of course she was anxious.
And in this situation, not only was the enemy not panicked by the arrival of reinforcements, he was using their own exposed intel to threaten them.
*So aggravating!*
And when Akame thought it through, she realized the enemy wasn't bluffing. The probability of Esdeath coming here was real.
*Even more aggravating!*
Their comrade's Teigu was stolen, their people were injured, and now they didn't even dare to make a move.
"Looks like you agree with my thinking. Fine. As a show of good faith..."
Pulling the four weapons from Leone's body, Aaron knocked out the weakly struggling Leone and sprayed hemostatic spray on her wounds.
"I'll stop her bleeding for now. As for your comrade in the forest... Heh. Catch."
Tossing the hemostatic spray to Lubbock, Aaron said.
"Since we've reached an agreement, let's not waste any more time here."
"...Sigh. Let's go, Akame."
Looking at Akame's ice-cold expression, Lubbock said helplessly.
"Don't glare at me like that. That guy is an asshole, but his analysis is correct."
"Mine is seriously injured. If we ignore the bigger picture and fight him here, Esdeath will just wipe us all out."
"Never mind whether he'd even team up with us. Even if he did—don't forget Miss Najenda's assessment of Esdeath's power."
"Fifty thousand elite troops and more than ten Teigu users, including me... I know, I know! But Leone—"
"Of course I'm worried about Big Sis Leone! But what can we do?! The moment that man laid out the entire situation, I knew he had us completely trapped!"
Lubbock could no longer suppress his emotions and roared at Akame.
"You think I don't want to take Big Sis with us? You think I want to let him go? Right now, we can't even... Mine... hell, we can't even guarantee our *own* lives! What's the use of stubbornly fighting him now?!"
"We retreat with Mine first! Right now..."
"—It's all we can do."